The Last Boeotian
by HeyOli
Summary: *originally posted on my Wattpad: tumblr troll* Everybody knows the story of Camp Half-Blood. Of seventeen year old Percy Jackson, of his deceased half-brother Tyson. But do they know the story of the Euboea Base? Calixia is the only child of Aigaios, god of the sea. When the Base is split up after a leviathan attack, who is she to meet but her half-brother, Perseus?
1. Chapter 1

You know, I never asked for this.

I never asked to be the child of some unknown deity, to have to live with other abandoned half-god children in a camp. I never asked to not know my real father, to be abandoned even by my adoptive parents.

But mostly, I didn't ask to be stuck sitting between Ash and Belen at lunch.

The two sons of Enyalius, god of war, sat on either side of me at the crowded outside cafeteria table. They shouted and yelled at each other, sandwiching me tightly between them and pushing me back and forth as they yelled nonsense at each other. My food shook and crumbs dropped on the table as I picked up my tray to stand.

Pulling myself up and out of the small area between the much taller boys, I tossed the rest of my lunch into the garbage can and flipped my dark brown hair back. The pixie-cut style hair brushed in front of my eyes again before I clipped the bangs back with a small silver hairclip in the pocket of my ripped black skinny jeans.

Most of the other demigods ate lunch in the outside cafeteria or in the House in the centre of the Euboea Base. The warm yellow sunlight stretched across the pure green grass and shimmered on the silver-blue lake.

"Everything going okay, Calixia?" A soft voice spoke form behind me. Aurae, the Base Leader stood next to me. Her shiny white hair blew past her face, but never seemed to catch in her eyes or mouth. I felt a cool breeze follow her body as she approached.

"Yeah," I replied quietly, standing under the much taller nymph at only four-foot-eleven. Her long legs reached out past her shorter silver dress as she began to walk away.

"Okay, be careful, and make sure you get some working out in today."

The Base had always been strong on working out and training. Demigods were trained to be soldiers, to fight for protection and save others from beasts and evil. They weren't allowed to just waste their life away, lounging around the comfortable security of the Base. Not that we didn't get plenty of days off to ourselves, of course.

I sat on the grassy edge of the lake coast, swirling my fingers in the clear lake. The water made small movements to my manipulation, and I felt more at home as I sat near the water.

"You there, dad?" I began trying to talk to the deity again, not that he ever listened. "You know, I'm turning fourteen in a couple weeks. I thought that maybe... Maybe I could see you. I've never met you... Well, obviously... But maybe you could visit us? I know you're probably busy and everything... Doing... God stuff."

I trailed off, knowing I was still just talking to myself. Why would a god even listen to what someone lesser than them had to say? Even if it was their own child?

"Calixia! Calixia!"

My head snapped up at the unusually distressed sound of Aurae's voice.

Bang!

Bam!

The earth shook and I fell to my knees as I tried to stand.

Bang!

There was a loud sound that imitated shattering glass, and small shakes began before abruptly stopping.

"Calixia, get away from the water!"

I stood frantically, taking a pen out of my pocket and holding it as if I would stab someone with it. Something large moved about quickly in the water, approaching from far away. The once clear water quickly began turning black, as if someone had poured in the world's largest bucket of ink.

I scampered up the small hill quickly. Nothing lives in the lake, nothing can live in the lake. It was put under a spell, part of the protection shield of the Base.

As I stood in the middle of the field, surrounded by cabins, I ripped off the black wooden cap of my pen. The body became a large black bow, longer than my torso and curvy like a garden snake. The cap became a leather black quiver filled with arrows with shining tips.

The ground shook again. Demigods and centaurs came from fields and cabins and the forest to stare at the water. Some held swords, others had bows, a few had knives, and some even nunchucks holding a magical aura. I carefully aimed an arrow at the lake.

With a boom and another shake, a large beast erupted from the water's surface. It looked like a snake the size of an airplane. Slimy grey skin, gills, and fins. The most terrifying parts were the muscled legs coming out of the water and the full set of sharp teeth in its mouth.

"Leviathan!"

There were instantly loud screams and running. People panicked, and many tried to shoot at it. The arrows and bullets and spears looked like needles and breadcrumbs on its huge body, and only made the beast angrier.

A loud roar erupted from its mouth in rage, and the rest of its body began climbing out of the water. There was no way it would fit in the field, even as big as the grassy clearing was.

"Go! go," Aurae shouted at campers. "Go! Find somewhere safe, move! Get out of the Base!"

I shot a single arrow, aiming at its huge beady black eye before turning as quickly as humanly possible and running.

"Take care of yourselves! Go," Aurae kept yelling, trying to help the younger kids find someone to run with or be carried. She held two infants in her arms, but there was no way for me to help her.

The Leviathan chomped at the ground, picking up a screaming boy. It swallowed the boy like it was a speck of dust, roaring and biting at others.

I bolted across the Base and through the trees. A small group of cabins in another small clearing sat only several hundred feet away from where the Leviathan stood. The cabins of the Megáli Treis. The Great Three.

I ran as quickly as possible into the middle one, a relatively smaller cabin, but larger than I needed as I was the only one who lived inside.

I yanked my black leather slouch bag off the bed, accidentally ripping the pocket on the bed post. Filled with emergeny supplies and clothes, I slung it over my shoulder next to my quiver. I gripped my bow tightly and ran out the back door, leaving the Base, probably forever.


	2. Chapter 2

It felt like hours until my legs gave out and I stopped running. I stumbled and fell on the forest ground, my bow hitting me in the side with the impact. Sweat dripped down my face, and my chest heaved up and down slowly as I caught my breath. Dirt and leaves stuck to my cheek as I lied face-down on the ground before pushing myself to my knees and brushing off the dirt and sweat.

The realization finally hit me.

I had lost my only home.

My body curled over, my arms wrapping around my stomach as my head reached down so far that my chin touched my chest. The clip in my hair had fallen out and my hair brushed in front of my face. My body shook and trembled as the pressure hit me.

I had nowhere to go. I had no family. No friends. I had nobody to talk to.

Most other demigods at the Base had family or friends. It would be strange not to. But even some demigods tried to stay away from me, I was the most reckless one, and I was the only child of one of the Megáli Treis. Some people even feared me. I had no friends in the Base, even though most people were friendly.

Air filled my lungs with a deep inhale, and I rested my head facing up at the sky, peering through the roofs of the trees as my hand ran through my hair once before falling back to the ground. Birds and bugs flew in the air noisily, chirping and cracking and whistling.

I was no longer sure what to do. I never had a backup plan. I kept emergency supplies around in a bag just in case, but I never thought I'd lose my only real home. I had no plan, other than living on the streets again.

Opening the black bag on my shoulder, I began pulling out my supplies. The standard food, nectar, and ambrosia, along with clothes and water. A folded piece of parchment-like paper was pressed against the interior, and I pulled it out. The American map revealed itself as I unfolded it. It was completely accurate, but looked like it had been done in pen, and held no more than just the outlines of the states. Given to me by Pholos- the most well-known centaur at Euboea- I still had no idea why he said it was so important. He stressed that I should never lose it.

Well, if you're so important, I thought, it would be just great if you could do something now.

I stared at the ink, but nothing happened. Of course nothing would happen. It was just a map.

I folded the large parchment and slid it back into the bag, pulling out a small blue pouch next. Filled with money, I began counting out how many drachma and American dollars I had in the wallet to live on for now.

I pressed the wallet back into the bag next to a shining silver knife, then slung it over my shoulder. I picked up my bow and quiver, pressing them tightly onto each other. The weapons became an intricately designed wooden capped pen again, and I slid it into my pocket before setting off to find some type of road or town.

Once I had made it through the dense forest, I found a broken-down asphalt road leading down between the trees. Road signs and location indicators decorated the sides every once in a while, leading me to decide to travel West on the wide road, towards an apparent small town only miles over.

My body was sluggish and lethargic with each step, and I could see the sun beginning to creep down under the horizon. I had no idea how long I had been walking down the road. It had to have been at least hours.

Lights made a white stream that I could see over the hill I trekked up. I had to be nearly there. Once at the top of the hill, I paused to catch my breath and gazed out across the land with my hands on my hips.

I could see the small town, buildings close together, but not enough to be a city. The only problem was that it was still probably at least a mile from the hill I stood on.

My breath left me with a huff, and I dangled my arms at my sides lazily as I bit down on a granola bar from my bag. My feet burned with pain as I pulled myself to go down the road.

By the time I had finally dragged myself into the lamp-lit town, the bright white crescent moon hung in the sky, providing little more light. I passed under the streetlamps on the concrete sidewalk, gazing at the buildings. Some had lights coming out of the windows, some were completely dark. It wasn't long before I found myself at the entrance of a small park, and sat curled tightly on a small wooden park bench. My knees were pulled tightly to my chest, and I rested my forehead on my jeans with a tired sigh. Fatigue hit me like a wave once I had finally relaxed, and my breathing came in deep inhales and exhales.

It felt like only seconds until I opened my eyes to the bright rising sun. It was like I had only closed my eyes for a minute, but felt more energized and rested. I sat on the bench with my feet on the ground, breathing in deeply. My back hurt and I sat up straight, arching my spine and twisting to let it pop and crack loudly.

I still remained in my position on the bench as if waiting for someone. I stared at the oranges and yellows overtaking the horizon. I finally began to stand with aching feet after several minutes, bending and stretching my legs lethargically before travelling down the street to where so knew a Starbucks had been last night.

The coffee shop was already open, and people hustled in and out of the building. I stalked in the door, approaching the stand.

The bartender worked quickly, three times as quickly as any other to be exact, as he even had six arms. Mortals walked past as if it was normal, the Mist covering anything monstrous to mortals.

"Can I get a large vanilla latte," I requested, sliding the money across the counter. "And add a shot of nectar." I added a few golden drachmas underneath the money. The bartender nodded and took the money, beginning to make the drink.

Once I had received my coffee, I sat outside against the building, pulling out the large parchment map again. If I knew which way to travel, I could find another state to stay in, if they had anything.

The map still had only an outline of the states in black ink, but I stared at the borders.

Maybe New York, I considered. I brushed off falling dust the paper, still focusing on it.

The ink in the middle seemed to move as I watched the paper. I blinked before looking back down, and I saw that the ink really had moved. Near the corner of the paper, in the body of water under a curve of land, was now a drawn pinpoint marker.

27 N, 91 W, Gulf Of Mexico.


	3. Chapter 3

The Gulf Of Mexico?

I brushed my thumb slowly across the inked papyrus font above the pinpoint. The black lines didn't smudge or run. How was I supposed to get across the country? It had to be important if Pholos had given me the map, but how much time would I have?

I swallowed the rest of my latté thickly and tossed out the cup. I looked down at the few drachmas in my hand, then thought about what Pholos had once told me.

"If you ever need to get somewhere in an emergency," he said seriously, "Just throw a drachma in the road and chant these words..."

I decided to take my chances, and folded the map into my back pocket before tossing the drachma into the road. It glimmered and shined in the sunlight. "Ste... Stêthi 'Ô hárma diabolês."

It wasn't even seconds until black smoke instantly flooded the area around the drachma. The smoke compacted slowly until an old rusty yellow taxi sat in the middle of the road, mechanically growling loudly. The back doors flung open.

Three women sat in the front seats of the taxi, a dark aura protruding from them. "Welcome to the Grey Sisters Taxi," the driver said in a slimy voice. She blinked at me, but something stuck out to me. She only had one eye. The others didn't have any, just empty sockets.

This was the Chariot of Damnation. I had summoned the fastest-moving mythological transportation in the world. They could get me to the coast of the Gulf in minutes.

"How much to get to the coast of the Gulf Of Mexico?" I asked quickly.

"Oh, that's pretty far, deary," the middle grey woman said. "Probably three hundred drachmas."

I searched through my wallet "Can you make it two?"

The three beastly women clacked heads to talk before they turned back to me. "Get in," one snarled with a snaggly-toothed grin.

I quickly sat in the backseat of of the old car, the putrid smell invading my nose. I paid my heavy toll and there was a loud cackle before the car loudly shifted into gear.

The car sped down-or through- the road, going hundreds and hundreds of miles an hour. I cleared my throat nervously and held tightly onto the seat and armrest. My face felt like it was being peeled off as images blurred by.

The ride only lasted minutes, and it went by pretty silently other than the loud clanging of the car and the wind outside. I was thrusted into the back of the front seat as the car jerked to a stop.

"Coast of The Gulf Of Mexico in Mississippi," the driver stated in her slimy tone.

I felt the seat move up forcefully, and I was pushed out of the car. I landed on my side on the asphalt with a thump. My bag landed next to me right after, and the car sped off to disappear.

I groaned and rolled to sit up, brushing off the dirt and debris on me. I wiped at the blood on a small scrape on my hand, and lifted my bag as I stood.

This place better be important if I just used up all my money to get here, I thought as I stared out at the ocean. The exact location was still somewhere in the middle of the sea, which I would have to get to.

Fortunately, I knew exactly how.

It was easy to sneak through the deck of a beach, where I knew canoes would lie, waiting to be rented. I slowly lifted the edge of one of the small wooden boats, seeing oars underneath. I twisted the upside-down canoe to lie in the sand, then placed the oars inside and began dragging it across the ground. I stayed under the deck before I reached the water, going directly around and sitting in the boat, watching for any observers. I was quickly able to paddle out of the beach and into the sea, where I could recognize where I was. I read the mental map in my head of where in the ocean I was, and recalled where I had to go.

27 N, 91 W, on the dot.

The oars were heavy and hard to push, but I managed to paddle the boat towards my location before the coast was almost completely out of sight. With a loud sigh to myself, I lifted the wooden oars up and placed them in the boat. I sat on my heels in the middle of the boat, pressing my hand on the interior bottom. My eyes closed and I exhaled deeply.

Focus. Focus.

I felt the boat move again and opened my eyes. A wave pushed the wooden canoe along, focused by the manipulation of my hand.

Keep focusing, I told myself.

The wave was small, but strong enough to keep the boat moving. Small fish and birds flopped about the surface as I moved, and I kept a track on my mental map.

Twenty-eight degrees, sixteen minutes North. Eighty-four degrees, fifteen-minutes West.

I took another deep breath, focusing harder on the location. A few minutes later, I no longer had to worry about where I was going. I knew exactly where the map was leading me.

Smack in the middle of where the map told me to go was a beast. Hundreds of feet tall at least, with huge dragon-like heads. It snapped and thrashed angrily in the water, wrapping itself around a ship. It was Scylla, and it wasn't here by accident.

I knew Scylla always lived in narrower waterways, like straits and canals, across from Charybdis. To have Scylla in the middle of the ocean meant somebody had to have moved the beast.

It roared and shrieked, chomping at the people who ran about the ship. Some fell off the tilted boat, some held on, and some were eaten.

I only had one idea, but there was no sure chance it would work.

I wasn't sure if it would work- in fact, I was pretty positive that it wouldn't, but I summoned all my internal willpower and focused on the sea. I felt my brain hurt with the focus on moving everything, but it wasn't long before a large wave pushed me up several feet in the air, and I travelled forward quickly towards the beast.

I was almost eye-level with Scylla, and I closed my eyes before taking a deep breath. I knew I probably wouldn't make it out, but that was okay.

I'm ready, I told myself.

I let out a puff of air and thrusted the wave towards the beast. The hard water hit Scylla with great force, distracting it with a roar. Its grip loosened, but that was the only thing I could see before I forcefully fell face-first into the dark water.


	4. Chapter 4

My body felt heavy and I found it hard to open my eyes. The air around me was cool, but I lied on something soft.

Am I dead?

Of course not, you'd be in hell, dummy. Hell is hot.

I finally summoned the strength to slowly open my eyes and try to sit up. When I sat up, I came face-to-face with someone.

I flinched away and leaned back, looking at the man. He was a satyr. His dark goat legs blended up into dark skin, his chest covered by some type of leather armor or vest.

"Imma go tell Chiron you're awake," he stated. He began walking away, outside of the building we were inside of.

I looked around. The small building had many windows to shine light onto the many beds and shelves on the floor. I was in some type of infirmary.

I sat up straighter, gazing around the infirmary. There were a few others, some lied on beds and others helped the injured. Gashes and cuts were on some of the injured, as if cut by a sword or knife.

This reminded me of the infirmary at Euboea Base. People always came in and out, and physicians tended to them, especially after a game of Human Stratego or of Dodgeball with the centaurs.

I couldn't be in another demigod base, could I? Were there others besides Euboea?

The dark-skinned satyr came trotting in, followed by a tall centaur who had to duck his head to get through the doorway. He had long curly brown hair and facial hair, and his leather vest covered his muscled stomach. A short sheathed sword hung around his waist between his human chest and horse legs.

"How're you feeling?" The centaur asked, placing his hands on his hips and standing in front of the bed. He had a deep and powerful voice, but used it gently.

"Where am I?"

"Camp Half-Blood, largest Greek camp for demigods in the world," the centaur said with a sort of pride, "My name is Chiron."

"How... How'd I get here?"

"A team of ours was on that ship you helped. You were fighting Scylla, and I'll tell you, that took some balls to do what you did to help." A small smirk stretched his lips as if he was trying to congratulate me.

"U-Uhm, thanks?"

"What's your name?"

"Calixia."

"Calixia, are you a daughter of Aigaios?"

"Yeah, are there others here?" Curiosity won the better of me. Maybe I had some siblings here. Greek gods haven't always been very well-known to stay loyal to one single partner.

After all, god backwards is dog.

"Sort of," he stated. "You know your father as Aigaios. You know your uncles as Dyeus and Eubulus, and so on. You know your father and direct uncles as the Megáli Treis. You come from a different heritage of Greeks."

"Huh?" My lip curled up in confusion.

"There were many different Greeks. There were the Olympians, the ones that most know. You come from a line of Boeotians, and that was the foundation of the only Boeotian's base, the Euboea Base. Is that where you're from?"

"Y-Yeah." I gazed down at my lap.

"Did somebody send you to fight Scylla by yourself?"

"N-No... Euboea... Was... Was attacked," My voice grew softer and quieter with each word. "The protective shield... It was broken... It's gone."

There was a short pause as Chiron pursed his lips. "I am terribly sorry to hear that. May I ask what happened?"

"I-I..." I gazed at my lap, blinking. "A leviathan... It broke through."

"A leviathan?" Chiron looked somewhat surprised. "Now it's to my understanding that the only nearby body of water at the Base was a lake, correct?"

I nodded, pinching the bridge of my nose as I felt dizzier than before. "I don't... I don't know how it got there, the lake had... Had a spell on it, nothing was in it."

"I am very sorry about what happened to your home, Calixia," the centaur said gently. "It would be in your best interest to get some rest and recover for now, then we'll talk about what will happen next. There are a few people you might want to meet once you get better." Without another word, the centaur slowly walked- or should I say, trotted- out of the building.

The satyr turned to me once Chiron was out of sight. "My name's Grover, just let me know if you need anything, 'kay?"

"Uh-Uhm, oh-okay, thanks."

Grover nodded. "Somebody will be here to look over your other injuries here soon." The satyr left, following the path Chiron had taken out of the infirmary.

I stared around the large room, not sure what to do. The other people in the infirmary minded their own business as they traveled about the wooden floor. I sat up straighter before slouching down and rubbing my hand on the back of my head; I must have gotten a concussion.

"Hi," a feminine voice said. I looked up to see a teenage girl with bright green eyes and brown shoulder-length hair. Her loose white t-shirt reached almost to her thighs over her black skinny jeans. "Are you Calixia?"

"Yeah," I mumbled.

"I'm Adelpha, Chiron sent me to look over your wounds, now that you're awake. Is it okay if I sit?" She motioned with a pale hand towards the cot I sat on.

"Oh, y-yeah." I slowly swung my legs over the edge until my shoes gently touched the wooden floor. Adelpha sat near me, looking over the scrapes and bruises on my arms. She cleaned the blood and dirt from the cuts before wrapping gauze around my scratched-up arms.

"I think you probably have a severe concussion," she stated gently. "Some nectar and rest should help you recover pretty fast, though. I'll be right back." The brunette stood and walked across the length of the building until she was out of sight.

Adelpha came back only minutes later, holding a glass filled with ice and a yellow liquid. She handed me the glass of nectar, and I took it with a small thanks.

"But yeah, if you need anything else, there are other psychiatrists around the infirmary. I'm over in the Hephaestus cabin. I have two brothers and a sister, but usually it's just me during the day." She gave a warm smile as she turned to walk away.

I looked down into the glass of nectar before bringing it to my face to first smell the liquid. It smelled sweet, just like it always did. Once I brought it cautiously to my lips, the nectar tasted like a warm vanilla latté, and a comforting feeling washed over my body. My burning headache began to slowly wash away. I ran my hand through my short hair before gazing down into the drink, staring at my rippling reflection. I sipped on more of the nectar, rubbing roughly at my forehead as I leaned against the wall behind the cot.

Condensation dripped slowly down the glass, and I became more tired- yet less dizzy- as I watched the cool liquid. My eyelids became more heavy until they slipped shut, and I became more and more exhausted with each minute until I fell back asleep.


	5. Chapter 5

I had plenty of time to wake up and feel more revitalized once I had sat up again. I rubbed tiredly at my face, placing the empty glass in my hand on a small table that was placed near my cot. I leaned over towards the floor to re-tie my black combat boots, tightening the laces on the leather until the boots were snug to my ankles.

"How are you feeling?"

I looked behind me towards the distinctively deep voice as Chiron walked slowly towards where I was. "Fine," I mumbled.

"Good." The centaur nodded as he crossed his arms in a relaxed fashion. "Follow me. There are a few things to show you."

I cautiously began to stand to my feet, bending my knees as I got a hold of my balance once again. Chiron still towered over me, but he appeared more friendly than threatening. He gestured me to follow him out of the infirmary, and I was led outside.

The sun was even brighter outside, and I blinked harshly against the light. I stood in a grassy field next to the infirmary, which was placed by another building. It looked like a cabin, a house. It had a wide porch extending from the first floor outside, shaded by a thin oak roof. A middle-aged looking man reclined in a chair next to a table on the porch. He drank a clear liquid from a wine glass with a blank expression.

"That is Mr. D," Chiron pointed to him. "He is the camp director." His voice became hushed in his next sentence, and he leaned over closer to me, "You may know him as Agrios."

I looked up at the centaur. "The god of wine."

Chiron's curly brown hair waved and bounced as he nodded. "The Olympians know him as Dionysus. But we just call him Mr. D here." He stood straight again and his voice became a normal level again. "Now, follow me."

I had to walk quickly to compensate for my already short legs, and Chiron had to walk much slower to help me keep up. The centaur led me across the field, where people of all ages fought and sparred and ran. On the very edge of the field began a stream of cabins. Some were more open and appeared to act as only a large simple shelter, but some were more complex and looked like small houses. People came and went from the wooden cabins, chatting and carrying objects. Some built small constructions, some braided each others' hair, some practiced fighting with weapons. A wide diversity of people could be seen interacting across the field of the camp. Most of the campers wore leather or metal armor or a bright orange shirt with jeans, but some wore other casual clothing.

"Over there are the cabins. The one you will stay in is near the lake," said Chiron as he pointed to an open cabin just up a small hill from a glimmering blue lake. Mountains stretched across the horizon past the lake, and sunlight reflected jewels of blues and whites off of the water. Chiron began leading me to the edge of the field where the cabins started, and they flowed through trees and other small clearings.

"That is the cabin of Aphrodite," he pointed to a cabin where girls and boys- several of whom were incredibly attractive- interacted and sat on the grass and rocks. "You probably know her as Cerigo."

The goddess of love and beauty, no wonder they don't have a single physical flaw, I decided.

"Up here is the cabin of Ares. His countername would be Enyalius, so you should know to be cautious around them," a small chuckle escaped his mouth as I nodded in pure confirmation.

"These are the cabins of Hermes, Athena, Hypnos, and so on. Each one you can see with a name by the cabin. You'll learn all the names quickly, I am sure." The trail of cabins never seemed to end as each Greek deity had their own.

"What about Adelpha?" I asked out of curiosity. "She said she was in the Hesaephstus cabin."

Chiron made another soft chuckle with a small grin. "I think you might mean Hephaestus. The god of blacksmith and fire. You know him to be called Mulciber."

Wow, I thought, she's pretty cute to be a daughter of Mulciber.

"Over here," Chiron gestured. He led me to a tall girl with blond hair and beautiful swirling grey eyes. Somehow she made an orange t-shirt and blue jeans look good on her toned figure. She held a sword tightly in two hands, battering a dummy in the forest nearby a group of people that practiced archery. "This is Annabeth, daughter of the goddess of wisdom and war, known as Athena."

I realized who he spoke of. Pallas, goddess of war.

"I will be putting her in charge of helping you train. It is to my understanding that Euboea Base was not light on training and practicing physical activity, so she will see what you can do in battle."

The taller girl let her shining word hang from her side, and she nodded at me in silent acknowledgement. I raised my eyebrows at her in response, and Chiron began to slowly walk away again.

"Many training sessions and competitions happen over there," he pointed through the trees to another clearing. The large clearing looked like a stadium surrounded by a track, with a complex climbing pillar. The different sections moved and some had spikes protruding from the rough edges.

"You will want to get to know the camp very well, but I expect it shouldn't be too hard for you," he stated. "Every Friday, the camp plays a game of capture the flag. Don't think of it as the game you may have played in middle school with mortals. This is used as a war game to train and work as a team to have fun, and many weapons are used, it's not uncommon to have many people injured during it."

"Yeah, we used to play war games," I replied softly. "Usually it was Human Stratego or dodgeball."

"Human Stratego," Chiron echoed with another small chuckle. "I don't think I've ever heard of that one."

"Yeah," I breathed out. "It was like a huge game of chess... Kinda. But with more bombs."

Chiron gave a small grin and nodded, walking towards a group of cabins. Three cabins sat slightly more isolated from the rest, more open as they let sunlight through. He pointed to the middle one, curtains hanging from the doorway. "This is your cabin." He gestured for me to go inside, and I pushed the dark curtains aside. The wide doorway was tall enough for the centaur not to have to duck his head to enter, and I looked down at the wooden floor. Objects and books cluttered the sides, and the back of the cabin opened to a path leading to a small dock on the lake. A dark-coloured trident rested against the wall near one of the two beds, and I gently ran my pale fingers down the cool metal. It was damp and the three barbs on the tips were sharp.

I looked down at the two beds, each on a separate end of the cabin near the back doorway. One was made neatly with white sheets, but the other was messy and had books and pencils on it.

"Somebody else lives here?" I gazed up at Chiron, whose head almost touched the ceiling, but not quite.

He nodded with his arms still crossed across his chest. "This is the cabin of Poseidon, the god of the sea. Your father. With another woman, he had one other child, who goes by the name Perseus. He has been here since he was thirteen, and now he's seventeen, and a very well known camper around here," Chiron spoke with a sense of pride. "He was also on that ship that you helped save. I already told Grover to send him over to the cabin to meet you. "

Chiron paused to let me stare out at the lake before continuing. "He was out, but he should be back soon. I will leave you to get yourself settled and meet your brother."


	6. Chapter 6

I leaned against the wide back doorway of the cabin, staring out at the lake. I wanted desperately to be able to go out and run my hand through the shimmering water, to sit peacefully at the bottom of the lake in silence as I used to, but I was terrified that something might happen. I didn't want a repeat of Euboea's attack. And yet, the lake still called to me as it always did.

"Hey, are- are you Calixia?"

I turned towards the voice. A teenage boy stood in the doorway inside the cabin past the dark curtains. He had dark brown hair, just shorter than mine, and bright blue eyes that looked as if they had been directly taken from the lake outside. They were the same colour as mine, I knew, and I blinked in amazement for a moment. This boy looked absolutely nothing like me, he didn't talk like me. But I knew we were connected when we stared into each other's eyes.

"Y-Yeah, you're Perseus?"

"Oh, y-yeah, just Percy works, I don't really go by my full name," he stated. "Thanks for, uhm, for helping us out back there."

I gave a small shrug and a tiny lopsided smile. "It was no problem." Percy stood sightly closer to me, and although he was probably average height for a seventeen year old guy, he still towered over my four-foot-ten figure.

"Uhm, yeah. Uh, sorry about the mess, I wasn't expecting anyone to be here. Usually it's just me and sometimes my friend Grover."

"The satyr? Yeah, I met him."

"Yeah, uh, d-do you want to sit? Maybe we can get kinda... Caught up, I guess?"

"Y-Yeah, sure."

Percy sat on the edge of his bed, crossing his legs. I mirrored his positioned on what I assumed was now my bed, and we faced each other from the different sides of the cabin. "So what camp are you from?"

"Euboea Base," I replied softly. "Chiron said it was some other heritage of Greeks, the Boeotians."

"Yeah, he kinda told me a bit about that, said you know the gods by other names and stuff."

"Yeah, but I guess they're still the same people... or gods... But different names."

"Yeah. When did you get to the Base there? Where is it?"

"It's in Boston. I got there when I was around nine. My mother put me up for adoption when I was younger, and all I really remember before getting to Euboea was being moved around from foster home to foster home, and different adoptive parents putting me back up for adoption. I guess a lot of it had to do with me doing weird stuff, like not normal... Our base leader, Aurae, was a wind nymph, and she was the one who found me when I was living on the streets for a few weeks. She told me about everything and took me back to the Base... Well, that's the gist of it, I guess. What about you?"

"I came here when I was around thirteen. I guess that's pretty normal for people around here, because that's around when your 'godly' scent becomes a lot stronger to other Greek creatures and beasts. A Fury was in my school undercover."

"Oh my Gods, really?" My eyes went wide with surprise.

"Yeah, she went crazy on me during a school field trip. Chiron was there, but he was in some... Magical wheelchair so he looked normal." Percy made a small chuckle at himself. "He called himself Mister Brunner, he was one of my other teachers. The Fury thought I had stolen Zeus's special lightning bolt, wanted it. Everybody did. that's when I was brought here."

"Did they ever figure out what was up with the lightning bolt?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "It was one of the sons of Hermes... I mean, Hermes is the god of thieves, and he was a pretty sketchy guy. His name was Luke. He was trying to overthrow the gods so the demigods could rule. It was... Yeah, it was weird. We went through a lot of crap to fix everything. We've done a lot since then, too."

"Wow, that's crazy."

"Yeah... So anything crazy or interesting you've been thrown into because of all this?"

I sighed. "Gods, I don't know. How about Charydbis? Had to get actually through her to save a team... A team that was meant to be a rescue team."

"Oh, God, that's awful. And she needs a dentist. Badly."

I laughed. "Yeah. Or how about... Living gargoyles that spit flames? Mortals practically thought it was raining fire."

Percy laughed. "Really?"

"Yeah, or... What about almost getting eaten by a leviathan?"

"Oh my God, you did not."

"Almost," I nodded. "That was actually how my Base was broken up." My smile faded. "Yeah, it broke the protective shield somehow."

"Wow, I'm... I'm really sorry. At least you're here now, though."

"Yeah," I nodded. "But at this point, I don't even think anything surprises me anymore."

"I know, right?" Percy laughed again.

"I could probably find out I was born by being spit out of a hot water geyser and I wouldn't even blink, honestly." I grinned.

"Yeah, exactly. Not much to be surprised by, anymore. Like okay, the world's ending? Gods, what happened this time?"

I laughed and nodded. "So... You don't have to answer this, I understand if you don't want to, but through all of this... Have you ever met our dad?"

Percy ran his hand over his hair. "Yeah, I have," he nodded. "The first year that I learned about this whole... thing, and I went off with some others to find the lightning bolt I told you about, I returned it, and I met him there."

"What was he like?"

"Uhm, really tall," he gave a small smile. "He was... Nice, I guess. He told me he cared about me, that he was sorry for abandoning me, that he'd always be there for me... I've tried talking to him since then, but..." The older teenager trailed off.

"He doesn't listen," I finished softly. "Yeah, I've tried talking to him. Praying and whatever and talking to the sea, the stuff I always thought would work. But it always seems like I'm talking to myself."

"Exactly."


	7. Chapter 7

It was nice to finally have someone who understood what it was like. It was also nice being able to hear a little bit about my father, even if it was just a little bit.

Percy began to stand to his feet slowly, and I gazed up at him. "Come on, they should be serving dinner here soon," he said.

I stood and followed the older demigod out of the cabin and across the field. He led me through another forested area before he stopped in another large clearing, filled with an outside cafeteria. Wooden tables and benches scattered the cement flooring with a roof shading the area, suspended by wooden pillars on each corner. It looked very similar to the cafeteria at Euboea, but was much larger.

"Over here," Percy gestured me over to where a table of people stood, handing out plates of food to campers. He took two and held one out to me. I cautiously took the plate of what looked like pasta, then followed him between the tables. He sat at a table near the edge of the concrete, where the satyr Grover sat, munching on his own food. I sat across from them, carefully watching what happened.

"Hey, man," Grover greeted with a mouth full of food.

"Hey, this is-"

"Calixia," the other boy finished. "We've met." He gave me a small grin and nodded at me.

"Yeah, my half-sister... She's my sister."

"What? No way, man! You got another one of you?" He gently pushed on Percy's shoulder. "Oh, just wait 'til you meet Annabeth," he said to me. "These two," he made a gesture towards Percy and crossed his fingers.

"Grover, we aren't-"

"Uh-huh."

"I met someone named Annabeth," I replied softly.

"Hey," a feminine voice said. The blond I had met earlier sat next to me with her food.

"Hey, this is my sister, Calixia," Percy introduced.

"Yeah, we've met." She turned her head to me, fixing one of the loose strands from her braided hair. "Hey."

"Hi," I said back quietly.

"So Poseidon had another kid?" She asked. "That means there are two children of the Great Three?"

"Yeah, I guess so."

"There aren't any others here?" I asked softly out of curiosity.

"No, not that we've ever known of," Annabeth said quietly.

"That's kind of a surprise, though, knowing Dyeus."

"Huh?" Grover made a small sound of confusion, a piece of bread falling from his mouth and into his lap.

"Zeus. Dyeus is the Boeotian name for Zeus," Annabeth explained.

"Yeah, sorry," I mumbled.

"It's true, though. Guess he's never gone after anyone mortal, though," she replied.

"But animals surely aren't off his list," Percy remarked, causing a small laughter around the group.

Once we had finished eating, Percy showed me where to place the emptied plates, and I followed him back to the cabin, not sure what else to do. The sun had already begun to set, and darkness was ready to hover over the camp.

I stood in the back doorway of the cabin, leaning against the wall and staring out at the lake. The sun slowly lowered down behind the mountains by the lake, reflecting colours of red and orange and pink on the blue water.

"You can go out there by the lake, if you want," Percy offered.

I shook my head. I wanted more than anything right now to be able to be by the water, to touch the shimmering waves, but I was still afraid something would happen.

"Nothing's gonna happen," he said, as if he was able to read my mind. "I promise."

I stared down at the path in front of me, gazing at it for several moments until I finally gave a small nod and stepped carefully out of the cabin. I followed the short dirt path until I stood on the small wooden deck on the water, where I sat cross-legged on the edge.

The orange ball of fire on the horizon finally began to completely disappear, bringing its orange and yellow streaks of light with it behind the mountains. Bright white stars presented the constellations in front of my eyes in the dark sky. The white crescent moon hung from an invisible thread in the sky, giving off a dim light across the lake.

My hand slowly trailed down and dragged gently across the lake water, and I stared up at the stars.

"You see this one?" Aurae made an outline with her fingers in the stars. "Aquila."

"Yeah," I replied softly, my voice still high in its earliest stages before puberty. The shape looked like a bird.

"Aquila was an eagle. He held onto all of Dyeus's lightning bolts. When he died, Dyeus put him in the sky to be remembered for all his hard work."

"Cool," I breathed out, drawing out the constellation of the wide eagle in the sky.

"And that one?" She drew out another shape. "That's Cygnus."

I exhaled deeply, looking up at the sky in front of me now, mentally drawing out all the constellations the wind nymph had taught me. I liked to think that maybe she was still out there, that maybe other people from Euboea were, and that maybe they were looking up at the same stars I was.

"That one is Eridanus," Aurae pointed out another constellation. "You remember the story of him?"

"He wanted to drive his dad's chariot," I recalled, dragging my hand through the water of the lake. "He was allowed to, but he crashed it and everything went bad. Dyeus had to hit him with lightning to make him stop flying towards Earth and killing people. He landed in a river."

"Very good," she praised gently.

Suddenly, the dark water turned even more black. It became frigid and sharp. I felt something brush against my hand.

An earthquake-like jolt shook my small body. A huge snake-like creature with legs erupted from the surface of the water with a roar, snapping its jaws.

I inhaled sharply and sat up straight. I looked around where I sat, pulling my hand quickly from the lake. It was still a dark blue colour, with the reflection of the moon and stars rippling across the surface. And yet, the painful strike of fear still rushed through my chest like an awful heartburn.

I slowly pushed myself to my feet, trekking back up to the cabin and walking inside. Percy sat on his bed with two books and a pencil, scratching notes and lines on them and the papers in his hand. As I passed by him, I curiously gazed over his shoulder to see what he was doing.

On one book was a list of sacrifices and the gods they went to. He wrote down names from the thick hardcover book that seemed random to me. On the other book was a list of monsters and their creators. A darkly-outlined picture of a gorgon took up a section of the left page, its beady eyes seeming to follow my every move.

I carefully sat on my own bed, playing with the strap of my black bag, which had been left on the mattress. My fingers ran over the ripped small front pocket, and I stuck my thumb through the hole before removing a lose thread, and I left it alone. I pulled a book from the bag, a small paperback book that fit in my palms, but was still much larger than my hands. The title Silence Of The Lambs was embedded in a shimmering gold colour on the cover, staring back at me.

I opened the book, reading over the words with a sense of familiarity, words that I had read over a million times before.

"Whenever feasible, one should always try to eat the rude."


	8. Chapter 8

I woke up to the sound of hushed voices, sounding frantic and quick. I felt an open book under my hand on my chest, and slipped my eyes open only slightly. My clock showed 3:16 AM, and I heard footsteps and more whispers around the dark cabin.

When I completely opened my eyelids, I could see Percy throwing things into a bag and talking with Grover.

"How're we supposed to get there," he whispered in a question.

"Chiron said we're taking a team there by boat."

"By a boat? Is he nuts?"

"That's just what he told me and Annabeth, man."

I sat up, holding tightly to my capped pen. "What's going on?"

"Nothing," Percy answered in a slightly louder voice. "We just have to go out on a mission."

"This is about the several appearing beasts, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Percy breathed out, tossing his backpack over his shoulder and gripping something small in his hand. "It's Scylla."

"I thought you killed it, though?" I began to stand, grabbing my bag.

"Much easier said than done. You've seen Scylla, it can't be just killed like that," he snapped his fingers, "We ran, and were able to thanks to your help. But it was found by a demigod on the east coast and on the move north, and some mortals by Georgia and Florida reported seeing 'large whirlpools by the horizon,'" he used air quotes.

"Charydbis," I breathed out.

"Yeah, so Chiron wants us to head out with a team and see if we can guide them away, do whatever we can to get them away from the coast. I'll be back in a few days, I promise."

"No, I'm going with you," I stated.

"I'm not letting you go out there. You've never been on a mission like this-"

"Yeah, I have. I can handle it. I'm not some little kid, I can go with you."

"I don't want you getting hurt, this is really dangerous, Calixia."

"I know, which is all the more reason you need as much help as possible, especially considering I have the same abilities as you towards the sea."

"Last time I let a thirteen year old come on a dangerous mission with us, she got killed," Percy's voice became soft. "She was crushed. Her name was Bianca, and I'm not letting the same thing happen to you."

"I'm not the same as them, Percy, I've been doing this since I was nine."

"Perse," Grover interrupted softly. "We don't have much time. She's coming or she's not."

Percy paused and turned to me with a sigh. "You have to be careful."

I nodded, gripping my pen tighter and hanging my backpack from my shoulder. I followed him and Grover out of the cabin, pushing the curtains out of the way. The two taller demigods led me across camp to where the large house was placed in the middle of the camp. They went through the front door, gesturing me to follow.

I stood next to Percy and Grover in the large room of the house, where Chiron stood by a table near where the camp director, Mr. D sat.

"You're having the new chick go, too?" The man said. He picked up a wine bottle by its neck and poured the red liquid into the glass. As soon as it hit the surface, the wine turned a clear colour.

"Why do you torture yourself?" Chiron shook his head.

"I can handle it," I insisted. "I've gone on missions like this, I can help."

"I believe you, Calixia," Chiron commented deeply. "But you must know that it will be dangerous, and you can not back down once you get there."

I nodded. "I won't."

"Percy," the centaur turned to him, "You must be sure to keep an eye out for her. Just don't smother her," he gave the boy a small smirk of knowing. "Take the boat by the coast. Annabeth and a crew are there, do what you have to."

"Yes, sir," Percy nodded, "I will."

"Good. Go on, and be careful, all of you."

Percy and Grover turned to leave, and I followed them. They began trekking up the hill, slowing only slightly to help me keep up without jogging.

"Do you have any type of weapons with you?" Percy turned to me as we stood behind a gate.

I nodded. I held out my pen to him, pointing to the etched name in the wood.

Cataiga.

"Is it a sword?"

"No," I answered quietly, removing the cap. The body stretched into a bow and the cap became its arrow-filled quiver.

"You know how to use it, I hope?" Grover raised his eyebrows.

"Yes, of course," I rolled my eyes.

"Good, let's go," Percy turned to Grover before removing a pen.

He has one, too?

Instead of uncapping the pen, Percy clicked the small button on the end. It grew into a long sword, shimmering silver in the moonlight.

"Come on. Once we pass this gate, we'll no longer be protected by the shield, so we have to move fast. Clarice and the others should already be by the boat."

I followed Percy and Grover quickly through the woods, crouching against a tree to hide from a patrol team. We stalked across the grass, our weapons tightly in hand. Percy stepped quietly heel-toe on the ground with Grover silently making large steps with his hooves. I followed silently, making sure not to step on branches or debris.

We finally came to the edge of a body of water. A large ship sat halfway on land and halfway in the water. A small group was huddled by the side. The only thing to see for miles was water.

"It's about time, Jackson," a girl said to him as she approached. She was tall and buff, and she gave off an aggressive aura about her.

"We need to get going," Percy replied as if her words meant nothing to him.

"Who's the kid?" She nodded at me and gave a disapproving glance at Percy like I didn't belong here.

"Calixia. She's coming with us."

"Better take care of yourself, sweetheart," the older girl told me with a lace of sarcasm in her tone. "Nobody's gonna take care of you."

"I don't need anyone to," I commented. I didn't like her already. I had a feeling she was one of Enyalius's kids.

Or what was it that Chiron called him, I wondered to myself. Ares.

Percy passed the taller girl, walking towards the ship. Annabeth looked at him and nodded in acknowledgement of his presence.

"Is the ship all loaded?" Percy asked the blond girl.

"Yeah, we should be ready. You're coming, too?" She turned to me, but didn't give the same disapproving expression as the other girl had.

"Yeah," I replied softly, barely above a mumble.

"Okay, let's get up there, then," Annabeth nodded. She began to climb up the rope ladder to get to the deck of the ship.

"That girl is Adrianne," Percy introduced to me quietly, gesturing to the girl. "Be careful around her."

"Okay," I responded in the same quiet volume as him before he began to scale the ladder effortlessly. I followed, and looked behind me at the small group of people.

Once I stood on the wooden deck of the boat, I gazed across the floor. Pillars that reached up held out white sails, and barrels and bags and boxes littered the edges of the floor, all strapped down.

I was pushed forward, and I looked behind me to see Adrianne pushing past. She went to stand by the wheel of the boat with Percy, placing her hands on her hips. She was much taller than him, even though Percy was average height for a seventeen year old boy.

I gripped my bow tightly in my hand, staring at them talking. I had a bad feeling about Adrianne, not just because of her sheer aggressiveness. Something was off about her.

The way she obviously forced her control on others, the way she got in everyone's face, her sharp words.

Something was definitely off about Adrianne, something I hadn't seen in other children of Ares.


	9. Chapter 9

I placed my bag in a hallway near where most of the others had their belongings. Everything was strapped down, ready if the ship were to tilt and turn. I slipped my bow over my torso and let the grip of the curvy weapon rest on my back against the quiver. The string reached across my chest like a security belt, getting caught on the buttons of my closed flannel shirt.

I stood out by the railing of the boat as the sails were already released and the boat was easily pushed off the coast. The heavy ship glided across the dark blue water like it was flying in the moonlit sea. Percy put someone in charge of steering the boat on its path before he stepped off the raised platform, walking up to stand next to me and placing his hands on the railing.

"You ready?"

"Is there a plan?"

"I have no idea," he confessed. "We're just gonna have to lead it away."

"Where? All the way to the Bermuda Triangle? I'm not sure that's the greatest idea."

"That's what I thought, but I told Chiron that we'd do anything we had to in order to lead the beasts away. We'll probably have to lead them there."

"So, we just joined a suicide mission?"

"Probably."

I stared down at the white beads of light reflecting from the moon on the water. The movement of the boat sent ripples across the water, refracting and bending the light. Percy stood next to me for a moment before turning and walking in another direction.

 _I said I would do this,_ I told myself, _I promised I wouldn't turn back, no matter what. It's more important to get the monsters away from the coast._

I turned away from the water, stalking across the deck of the ship. I padded up the wooden steps to the platform at the back of the ship, where Percy stood. A boy who looked only slightly younger than him held onto the wheel, steering the boat.

"This is Agori," Percy said softly as he sat on a box. "He's a son of Atlas, the god of navigation."

I gave the boy a small smile and a nod, and he nodded back at me, his wavy black hair bobbing in front of his face. He turned back to face the direction we travelled, slowly turning the wheel carefully.

I sat cross-legged on the ground near the back railing of the ship, near the box that Percy sat on. "So, there's not really much to do until we get there?"

"Nope," he replied softly. "We just have to be ready."

I nodded, tangling my fingers in my lap and wrapping them around each other.

"So, uh, what was it you were telling me about Euboea?" Percy asked. "What was it like there?"

"It was... It was home," I replied softly. "Everybody took care of each other, we all protected each other. I didn't really have any 'friends' there, but everyone got along well... Even if Enya- Ares's kids got a bit hardheaded. We played war games like Chiron told me about capture the flag, too."

"Really?"

"Yeah, it wasn't capture the flag, though. It was dodgeball or Human Stratego."

"Like the board game?"

"Yeah, except... More fire and blood. Only a couple people went missing, though."

Percy laughed quietly. "You're joking, right?" I paused with a small smirk, looking up at him. "You're not joking." He shook his head.

I felt nostalgia knocking at my brain as I remembered the games at Euboea. I missed belonging somewhere.

"So, uhm," Percy hesitated, "How did you end up in the Gulf Of Mexico?"

I remembered the map Pholos had given me. Somehow, it really was important. It brought me to Percy, whether it meant to bring me to him or Scylla.

"This map," I answered. "It's in my bag... A centaur, Pholos, gave it to me a while back, when I was still in Euboea Base. It never really did anything, but it ended up showing me a pinpoint of where Scylla was... He also told me how to summon the Chariot of Damnation, if I ever needed to get anywhere far away in case of a huge emergency."

"It came up with a pinpoint?"

"Yeah, it just... Appeared."

"Percy," Agori piped up. "I think we should be almost there."

The older boy stood, gazing out at the different directions of water. I stood to my feet, too, reading the latitude and longitude lines that my head drew out across the rippling surface of the water.

The sun had finally begun to rise, but heavy clouds hung over the sky. The dim light turned the water a lighter blue, and rolling waves pushed up and down the surface. The boat moved up and down slowly as the waves pushed it.

I sensed a disturbance in the water. There was something nearby. It had to be Scylla.

"We have to be close to it," I stated, mostly for Agori's knowledge.

"How do you know?" It was Percy who spoke.

"I can feel it," I replied simply. "Can't you?"

The brother made a confused face and shook his head. "No."

"Can you at least tell where we are?"

"Of course," he responded. "If I'm by the sea, I can tell. Look," he pointed out at a bright blue line across the water. "Do you see that longitude line?"

"Yeah. Of course, that's how you know where you're going. But can't you feel... I don't know, disturbances in the sea?"

"No. It feels the same as always."

"Oh," I breathed out. "Maybe since we were born in different areas, or something..."

"Percy!" A feminine voice echoed across the boat. Annabeth pointed from the front of the ship, where large waves came rolling around, and water splashed up from the horizon. A moving monster could be seen thrashing about the water, and its shape only grew larger as it seemed to move closer.

"It's moving fast," Percy shouted at the crew. "We're leading it to the Bermuda Triangle! Move straight ahead to it!"

"Are you crazy, Jackson?" Adrianne stood on the steps near the wheel. "Are you trying to get us killed?"

"I promised Chiron we would do whatever it took to take care of the beasts. So did the rest of you. Straight ahead, shoot when I call, not before."


	10. Chapter 10

Percy took hold of the ship's steering wheel. He gripped it tightly, heading straight towards the beast. As they grew closer and closer, a mutual feeling of fear seemed to wave over the entire ship.

"Hurry up, Jackson," Adrianne called loudly. Percy ignored her and continued straight for the monster. The crew of demigods held out swords and bows and some even held fire in their bare hands. I held my bow in my right hand and aimed a silver-tipped arrow at the approaching beast. Scylla thrashed and shrieked loudly, biting at fish and birds as it swam faster towards the coast and us.

The ship was about to crash straight into the stomach of the scaly monster. Percy continued forwards, still.

 _Is this really his plan?_

"Now! Shoot," he shouted loudly. The ship began to turn sharply to the right. Scylla's many heads slapped the water and reached for the boat, but it moved faster than the monster. Arrows and swords ripping into its skin, and fire blasted its faces. Demigods shot at Scylla, and their swords were summoned back to them. I aimed at a moving head, and released the black arrow. It stabbed Scylla in one of its many eyes, and it continued growling and roaring at the boat. Percy willed the boat to move faster, and waves rushed to help it move forwards and away from Scylla. The beast followed the boat as he began moving South.

 _This was his plan,_ I realized, _he's leading it to the Sea of Monsters._

When we were several hundred feet from the following beast, Percy ordered the crew to stop trying to shoot, not that they could anymore. He continued forward as quickly as he could force the boat to go, checking every once in a while that Scylla was still behind him.

It wasn't long before a large stream of dark clouds could be seen. They gave off an intimidating and terrifying feel, hovering almost angrily over the sea. I felt a shiver of coldness brisk through me, and I felt uncomfortable and awkward.

The boat began slowing down once we pushed through the dark clouds, and I could no longer sense where we were. This was no longer Poseidon's domain.

The beast was quickly catching up to our ship. "Percy," I called. "We have to get going!"

"I'm trying!" He moved the wheel, but we could no longer move as fast without the power of the sea behind us. A gust of wind finally began carrying us through the sea, the white sails on the boat blowing in the direction we travelled.

"Percy!" Our heads snapped over to see Grover in the middle of the ship. "Get going, there's something in the water!"

"Well, thanks, Grover," Percy shouted, "I hadn't noticed."

"No, something else, doofus! I can sense it! There's something bigger!"

"What?" Percy mumbled frantically to himself as he tried turning the boat in the other direction. Rain and wind pattered on our clothes and the sails and ship deck. A lightning strike reached down across the horizon.

The sea began turning even darker. The already dark water turned a black colour, as if it had been tainted by ink. I knew what it was.

"Leviathan!" I shouted loudly as rain began harshly pattering my face. "Percy, go!"

"I'm trying!" He yelled back at me, turning the wheel of the boat. It moved forwards, away from a barricade of jagged rocks.

There was a loud splash and a roar. A slimy body erupted from the dark surface of the water. Its snake-like head snapped and bared its yellow teeth.

My breath hitched and I went dizzy. I saw spots in my vision.

 _With a boom and another shake, a large beast erupted from the water's surface. It looked like a snake the size of an airplane. Slimy grey skin, gills, and fins. The most terrifying parts were the muscled legs coming out of the water and the full set of sharp teeth in its mouth._

 _"Leviathan!"_

The boat shook and I fell to my butt in my hypnotic state. The beast sprang from the water's surface again, reaching straight towards the sky before attacking the boat. It chomped as it bit at the boat.

Water filled my lungs. My body moved freely. I hit something hard with my back, and my body tried to force the water out by coughing. More jet-black water rushed into my lungs, choking me. There was nothing I could do. This was not Poseidon's domain.

Something touched me. Something soft and small, grabbing my hand and pulling me. I managed to open my eyes to see a boy- Percy, holding his breath in the shadowy water and pulling me up.

Water sputtered from my mouth as we hit the surface. I coughed and gasped for air. The boat was upside down, broken and floating. Other demigods swam up and some climbed onto the floating bottom of the ship corybantically.

Percy helped lead me quickly to the boat, and we scrambled up the wood to crouch on the top. I shivered in the cold air, freezing water dripping from my clothes and hair. The leviathan could not be seen, but Scylla still managed to thrash and swim towards us.

The aquatic Hydra-like monster was tugged harshly. Blood splattered up in the air and into the water as the leviathan attacked again, this time at Scylla. Scylla's many heads snapped at the leviathan, ripping chunks from its scaly flesh. They wrapped around each other as the demigods watched, trying to paddle away from the monsters discreetly.

The bodies of fighting monsters thrashed and splashed, creating large waves. I was pushed against a sharp rock, cutting my arm. I squeaked in pain as dark red blood slowly poured into the water.

Waves continued to splash and roll. The leviathan flipped over and painstakingly pulled a tired Scylla over into the black water. The force brought a massive wave towards the demigods.

I felt a great force push me up. When I looked down, my arms were flailing in the air as pieces of boat and other demigods were flown into the air. There were screams and splashes and shouts as I saw blue water.

 _Smack!_


	11. Chapter 11

I hit crystal blue water with a smack. The impact hurt my head, but it wasn't long before the water soothed the aching pain. My eyelids were heavy and my body was tired. I had to force myself to slowly open my eyes and gaze around the water, searching.

There were pieces of wood that slowly began floating down towards the bottom of the sea, and a couple of demigods lied limp in the sea, suspended in the water. I twisted and turned until I could begin pushing my arms and legs to swim towards one of the demigods. I recognized him as Agori, the navigation boy. I pushed on his body, and he was able to slowly open his eyes.

I wrapped my arms around the larger boy, kicking up towards the surface of the water. I pushed his body up and began trying to carry him to a large floating piece of wood. He coughed and sputtered once we reached the surface, gasping for air. I helped him grab onto the boat shard and gazed back around. I could see Percy helping up others, leading them to large floating wood shards.

"You okay," he cracked out to me as loud as he could.

"Yeah," I called back, helping someone pull themselves to a makeshift buoy. "You?"

"All good."

"What the Hades was that, Jackson," a loud voice called. An unscathed Adrianne started swimming towards us with an irritated look on her face.

"What makes you think I would know?" Percy's voice was laced with sarcasm, obviously feeling done with Adrianne.

"You made it clear that it was _your_ mission, and you're the holy son of the sea," she retorted.

"It's not my fault you-"

"Shut up," I called loudly. "This isn't getting us anywhere. We're nearly twenty miles from the coast of Georgia and acting like malakas isn't helping!"

"Woah, watch that mouth," Grover called from where he leaned against the boat piece, kicking his furry matted legs.

"Not helping," I replied loudly. "We have to figure out how to get back to land before we do anything else. I can get us a bit closer, but not for twenty miles. It would take all night, if I don't pass out first."

There was a long pause of silence, and the demigods all gazed at each other for what seemed like an eternity.

"What about Odysseus," Annabeth offered.

"Who?" I gazed over at the girl.

"Odysseus. His Boeotian countername is Polyaretos."

"Oh," I breathed out. "Okay, how is he supposed to help? He's more dead than we're gonna be in a couple hours."

"It's said that his ghost still travels the sea. You're supposed to be able to summon his ship with a golden drachma and the blood of Poseidon as sacrifice."

"Do you just come up with this stuff off the top of your head?"

"Daughter of the goddess of wisdom," she pointed to her head as if to say _uh, duh._

I patted my pockets to search,but I could only find my pen. "I don't have any drachma."

The other five demigods and the satyr searched around to find nothing. There was quiet mumbling and the shaking of heads.

"How well can you swim," Percy asked.

"What kind of question is that?" I made a face at my brother. "You of all people are asking that?"

"I didn't know," Percy put his hands up in slight defeat. "I saw some of the bags fall in. Maybe we can go down and find drachma inside."

I nodded. "We can try."

Percy nodded at me. "Everyone else can stay here. Let's go."

I followed Percy down under the water, adjusting my eyes to the lack of light as I swam down farther. Every once in a while I would gaze over at Percy, checking if he found anything or had left.

I swam down, farther down the sea. I saw small fish and big fish and a few squid, some garbage from mortals, but nothing that belonged to the demigods. I looked over at Percy, who nodded at me and gestured to keep going.

The water was dark and dense, and the farther down we went, the larger the fish would become. I could see small pieces of wood suspended under the water from the boat, and more garbage, but no bags or cases.

I felt a hand on my shoulder, and I looked up at Percy. He slowly moved his other hand towards me to present an object, a dark silhouette that was hard to see near the bottom of the ocean. I felt at it, then recognized my bag. It was still strapped shut and probably didn't lose anything. I nodded, taking the bag slowly from Percy's hand. He nodded back and began backing away, gesturing down again. I nodded and continued searching.

I found shells and fish corpses and living fish and trash. I had to search through piles of garbage, disgusted by the amount of pollution.

I found a small bag- a messenger bag. The shimmering blade on the front caught my eye, leading me to pick up the bag. I turned back to Percy, tapping his arm with my palm. He turned to me, observing the bag. The older boy nodded before he pointed up, taking the bag in his arms.

I nodded in reply, following him back up to the surface.


	12. Chapter 12

p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="c5e75afdc6252a9ccfedfb9f851e36b7"I searched through my bag, kicking my legs in the water to stay afloat. Most of the objects inside were soaked in water, but still intact. I found my wallet and pulled it out, presenting it./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="7317f69b8c439211e8b95d8e9f550c19""Okay, what now," I asked Annabeth, "I sincerely hope we didn't go down there for nothing."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="5838425c55ffd14f87ab66ebb43f5654""We need to blood of Poseidon as a sacrifice. The blood of one of you two should work," she told us. "It's supposed to be dripped onto the drachma and we have to recite the prayer to Odysseus."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="edbfaad18f76811ab3cbadee0af62653""So you just happen to have it memorized?"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="91fcba27bb2e1095bfe962d2221dd61e""Don't even ask that," Grover intervened. "It ain't a surprise anymore."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="86da7052ddfc0f271a2c0d01aed654e2""Goddess of wisdom," Annabeth said in a tone that said em style="box-sizing: border-box;"duh./em/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="1b3a5bd65c8c179bed7e8ee2f033f23d""Okay," I raised my hands in defeat./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="43affea01a1847e698a52d0305763cc2""Which one of you two are doing this?" The blonde looked from me to Percy./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="e2aaa7497ec09efddd81a9e5772ad4fc""I will," Percy volunteered./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="d045c455e520e0372bd0a02ee4c4935d""I can do it," I replied back./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="0dcbff8b116a235b5337867c3d1a70d6""No, I'm not gonna let you." Percy began to sit up on top of the large floating piece of wood. "Give me the knife that was in your bag."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="c0a78b22c71cbdb1979700b437a39b08"I hesitated before reaching into my backpack, pulling out the silver knife. Percy grabbed it by the hilt and held it up near his face to let it reflect the sunlight. He left a shimmering gold drachma on the wood in front of him as he crossed his legs. "Now what?" He turned to Annabeth./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="246dfcd1775b0e8bc81c6c5d661622fc""Let the blood fall onto the drachma. Be careful, don't make yourself lose too much blood. I'll take care of the rest."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="21d35d889e2e7c8441e1587d8b1a321c"Percy lifted the knife to his left hand and pressed the top into his palm. He dragged it down, wincing as dark red blood pooled from the thick line across his hand. The other demigods watched as he squeezed his fingers into his palm to let the blood drip onto the drachma./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="6b95bb34293ae59b5ab79af48c361957""Sas apefthýnomai, o Odysséas. Akoúste tis prosefchés mou kathós sas zitó na érthete se mas," Annabeth said, hovering her pale right hand over the blood-coated drachma as her voice went low. "Egó thysiázo aftó to aíma se sas kai sas zitó na érthete se kairó anánkis mas."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="67c10c155a7f54e23b6dc812ed041f04"Annabeth moved her hand down into the water again. Nothing happened as the demigods watched the drachma anxiously. Minutes passed, but the only movement in the water were the tiny waves./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="c44e0fc155531f47cf4a2e5a4a04b828""Did you say it right," one of the demigods asked./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="4441b8291a592a628be6f8ab8dcb9f3b""Obviously not," Adrianne retorted./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="b45a12922a59c070be2d3167dbc21540""No, I'm sure I did," Annabeth hissed./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="9cd69db146ed8a50011b27a1c07ad983""Well, it didn't work, did it, Miss Perfect," Adrianne snapped. "Can't handle the fact you were wrong for once?"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="01bc9fb172fc5e30a31bdbb37e06a842""Are you kids just going to sit there and bicker," a deep voice boomed./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="137e39750506738b4b29aead8cbb53f1"I snapped my head behind me to look towards the sound of the voice. A large ship swayed back and forth in the water, dark oak pieces splintering off the sides and into the sea. A man with long curly hair and a shaggy beard stood at the top of a rope ladder on the side. His arms were crossed in front of a leather armor chest piece, the only protection he wore over a white shirt and shorts./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="400a8f4ec3d9a32986e5aca1520b22dd"Without another word, the man helped us up the boat and to stand on the shaking deck. "Odysseus," Annabeth said courageously once the demigod team stood on the boat in front of him. "We need your help getting back to our camp."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="894859953f43a3dd668eedfe1ad0b51b"The man crossed his arms again, standing over Annabeth, towering over her. "What's in it for me?"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="c8d4d6803b485fe6569a000f1e055d62""The knowledge that you helped people who are trying to save the world," Adrianne said with irritation in her voice./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="56a1e1c0bcf02ef0850c3660f0174a4d"Odysseus stepped slowly over to Adrianne. The brunette was very tall, especially for a teenage girl, but Odysseus still had several inches over her. "You are on my boat," he scolded her in a low voice. "You will not use that tone with me while your life is in my hands."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="c1a8236471045f7fd7214b45427d6f39"Adrianne did not seem the least bit afraid of Odysseus, rather she gave him the angriest staring contest I had ever seen. Her piercing blue eyes started into his pale green ones, tightening her fists by her side. "Do I make myself clear," the sailor asked in the same low voice./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="7d03baef18930f1c59f1365615c36aa4"Adrianne did not reply for several seconds, staring at him without blinking. "Yes, sir," she growled finally./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="1753f18b3d459aed0ed8ec9b4fa8ac8c""Good," he almost snarled. Odysseus stepped back and circled our group slowly. "Now I will ask again, what is in it for me if I take you back to your camp?"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="6dae7e953f73c19d90bd194413caefc8""What do you want," I asked./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="923fddbd95d8307e2beddd8b8d2248a1"Odysseus did not reply for a minute, then stopped pacing around us. He looked me straight in the eye and replied gently "I want a half-blood."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="3737180b945aa71ea51a627bf6abca77""What for," Adrianne snapped./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="1ce3e22305321320c76c61306e10151b"Odysseus got close to the girl's face again with an angry expression. "So I can torture them and cut their face off. So I can rip them to shreds and feed them to my crew for dinner."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="830f061e1f4a42f904a13a97686fa758"Odysseus stepped back again and began pacing slowly in front of us again. "My crew is weak, they are the undead," he gestured to a man on the side. The man was thin and had pieces of skin missing from his face, revealing muscles and pieces of yellow-white bone. His lips were thin and cracked and his eyes were sunken in. "A half-blood has power. They can help with our journeys. If one of you stay, then I will take the rest of you back to Camp Half-Blood."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="0896557c66a3885c8748d3ebf8f92f41""How did you know it was Camp Half-Blood?" I couldn't hold back my curiosity. There were several camps, and one I knew was in Florida./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="6f39be91c57ee26e97f9ba05993ea911""Her shirt." Odysseus pointed to a camper. She had an orange shirt with Pegasi on it, reading em style="box-sizing: border-box;"Camp Half-Blood./em/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="722db7f62935ad8beb4eb491869c2586""Oh," I breathed out, feeling stupid./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="8c55725c91af8343372e88089791821c""So what will it be?" Odysseus crossed his arms./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="3067b4030b4acd9d66746658e27d8818"Our group looked back and forth from one another. "I'll stay," Agori piped up./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="f767df12c199adb1718ded77cc4806f1""No," Percy replied. "None of us are staying. Is there something else you want?"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="1f7b7caf4a6646259db2656a3027cb93""No, I said I'll stay. I promised I would do anything to protect you guys on this mission. That's what I'm gonna do. If I have to stay here so you guys can get home, I'll do it."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="289628a7b776d97d25ea81eafe0a840a"Percy went silent, along with the rest of us. "Fine," he mumbled./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="601fd80cd7b667f65b38d5babecc39ca"The other demigods nodded, silently agreeing. "So I'm staying here with this crew. I'll be okay," Agori reassured us. He turned to Odysseus and nodded./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="9261d9413f33e1205d9e6fcdf1358910""So you will become one of my crew. A son of Atlas, yes?" The bearded man put a hand on Agori's shoulder./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="00e44354c8de5107cb23a62cf13d16b5""How'd you know?" The boy looked up at him./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="fb24da69e5e79481ef62c06860e97cf4""A navigator can sense another navigator. You made a good choice, son," Odysseus assured him. "I will take care of your friend. On to Camp Half-Blood."/p 


	13. Chapter 13

Odysseus began yelling and shouting across the ship, ordering the crew to move it. The group of demigods stood around awkwardly, and we gazed at each other as if asking what we should do. We all stood on the cracking deck of the ship, soaked from our heads to the toes of our sneakers.

"Well, don't just stand there," Odysseus shouted, "You'll want to grab on to something!"

We looked at each other in confusion. I stared at Percy, asking him with my expression if he had any idea what was going on. My brain decided it would probably a smart idea to hold onto something, but my feet wouldn't move.

The ship began to speed off. I fell to the ground with a loud _thump._ I rolled into other demigods as I struggled to grab onto the wooden railing, which was cracking and splintering. I felt a wave of deja vu as my face felt like it would peel off. I held tightly onto the railing with tiny pieces of wood stabbing into my fingers, and I could feel another demigod holding onto my leg for dear life.

The ship hit large waves, and it rolled up and down until it was nearly vertical. However, the crew kept on sailing as if it was an everyday occurrence. The demigods fell and rolled around the ship, holding onto railings and loose boards.

There were some gasps and shouts, but most of the demigods had gotten the wind knocked out of them. I struggled to keep my eyes open as I was hit by stinging wind and sharp needles of salt water.

 _Bang!_

The boat stopped. We fell forward, rolling over. I felt my arms and knees become scraped along the deck of the boat. There were some groans and huffs as the demigods struggled to slowly stand.

"Long Island Sound," Odysseus boomed. He placed his hands on his hips in a sort of _I'm-in-charge-and-I-know-it_ way as he stood in front of us. "Well, get up! Don't waste our time on the ground, you'll get it muddy."

As I sat up and pushed myself to my feet, I tenderly brought my hand to my forehead, feeling the warm blood that trickled down from my hairline. I ran my hand through the short strands as they stuck out in all different directions. I gazed around at the other five demigods and Grover, seeing them also scratched and scraped by the movements.

"Go," the sailor boomed, gesturing to the ladder. "I'll take care of Agori, he will become a great asset to my crew." Odysseus patted a heavy hand on the navigation boy's shoulder.

The team said tired and painful goodbyes to Agori, then lined up at the ladder. My arms and legs ached as I tried to stay on the rope ladder before I would fall. My feet hit the sandy ground, causing me to stumble. I fell on my stomach, breathing heavily.

I rolled to my back, feeling sand stick to my stomach and shirt. I threw my arm over my eyes, feeling my entire body ache as my lungs begged for more air.

"Come on, let's go," Adrianne shouted.

I looked up at the girl, realizing the boat had already disappeared. "How the Hades have you gone through this, and you don't have a single scratch on you," I asked.

"Beats me," she retorted sarcastically, "Maybe it's because I'm stronger than you losers."

I hit the back of my head on the sand again, knowing I would regret it when it came to washing it out. I sighed, sitting up with a pounding head. "Do you Olympians ever sleep?"

"Hey, I'd be at home right now if I could," Grover replied loudly as he stood, shaking the sand off his furry legs. "But no, I have to be out protecting this guy," he dramatically gestured to Percy.

"Well, he's _your_ boyfriend," I retorted.

"I don't wanna be around him all the time," the satyr argued, "I gotta have me time, man."

"Can we make-out after we get to the camp," Adrianne interjected loudly.

I huffed, standing to my feet and travelling in the middle of the group. "The camp should be about a half mile away," one of the demigods said, "It shouldn't take too long to get there."

"Thanks, Atlas," Adrianne said sarcastically. "Don't know what we'd do without you."


	14. Chapter 14

p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="5cbe4bed493888f763a98735ae4c4b21"By the time we had finally hiked through the forest to the camp, my feet were sore and burning. We were all tired and sore and dehydrated, but managed to pull ourselves into the safety of the camp. /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="5eb9840226bf569722db0f47c38bbd4c""This has to be longest week of my life," I admitted. /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="acb71c4ea1739b58bec46accf94f182f""You can say that twice," Grover agreed./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="52d871629fcb163addb9e20e0f1902b4""Hey," Percy protested tiredly to Grover, "At least you didn't figure out you have some estranged sister or anything."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="8f3300627d2ba6d0d53c0212ee0ccf05""Yeah," Grover nodded, "But I have to put up with you, and now a mini-you."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="ce7b4817d79bbaf80be67960866c09ec""Excuse me," I interrupted as I adjusted the strap of my bag on my back, "I am a pleasure to be around."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="73c423550a782517e61baa83b288bd2c""Yeah," Grover breathed out in partial disbelief, "If you're any more like this guy than you already are, than nuh-uh, no thank you. This satyr is out."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="a66b7cb898fe8dac7630483705535e77""Hey, you're the one who chose to be my 'protector' or whatever," Percy used air-quotes around the word 'protector.' "Not my fault you didn't like the job."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="14e91ffecadedd97b7e071209617f4d2""Yeah, but it's your fault we almost get killed every other week."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="46479e778c2ffc5eaee070737862cfc9""Welcome home," a deep voice boomed, interrupting our conversation. Chiron crossed his arms as he approached us just near the house. "You are here much earlier than I expected. Can I assume the mission was successful?"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="b239fa739f5770339ad7058726f59aa7"The demigods and satyr gazed at each other, but only Percy was brave enough to answer. "Yes and no," he admitted, "I'll tell you inside. Away from the others."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="339a561fff90d05ba727c37f87f32025"Chiron nodded, agreeing. "Then come inside. Calixia, I would like you inside, also."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="065a3d14b544b9a181696596236843e8""What about us," Annabeth asked. /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="e33caa1102357c61d2ff1d905f410ac1""Annabeth, you and the rest should go back to your cabins and the infirmary for some well-deserved rest. Take tomorrow off for capture the flag."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="fd585c007e51579ac3fc39470dcf888c"Annabeth did not seem to happy about not being able to brief the activities director about the mission, but she reluctantly helped lead the rest of the team to the infirmary. Meanwhile, Chiron gestured Percy and I into the house with him. "So tell me what happened."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="57d0f34b3b519e9d8098b600e9a3d993"Percy and I sat on the opposite side of a table from Mister D, who Chiron stood next to. Percy began telling the directors the story of the mission. He told them about Scylla, about the chase and the strange battle with the leviathan. I, however, remained silent most of the time./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="2a2d7d8799e95123c5ffbda847b3b578""Well, I am just very glad that you are all in one piece. Agori and the others who were lost, of course, will remain in our memories, and I am sure Agori will be taken very good care of by Odysseus. He will not be able to return, but I hope that he will take care of himself, as well as the others of his new crew," Chiron stated. ""How about you, Calixia," he asked in his deep voice as he turned his head to me, "You've barely said a word since you returned."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="1beb6d9b1e8c86ba3f7872ff550b482e""Huh?" I looked up at the centuar. "Oh, I guess... I guess it's just hit me a lot now... Sorry," I shook my head and ran my hand through my hair./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="a66accf89232c3daa332bd0059ac270d""It's quite all right," Chiron said sympathetically with a small smile, "It's been quite the past week for you both. Get yourselves to the infirmary and rest, take the next few days off. We will discuss the mission and future actions later."/p 


	15. Chapter 15

Percy led me to the infirmary once we left the Big House, and we were brought to separate beds by a satyr with curly horns. I could see the rest of our team spread out in different sections of the infirmary, either sleeping or getting treated for their injuries. I gazed around at the others as I sat on the bed, blood still dripping from my head and down near my eyes. My entire body was sore and it hurt, but I savored the comforting feeling of being able to sit down again.

"Back already?" A girl with light brown shoulder-length hair approached me. Adelpha smiled at me and gently placed a kit of medical supplies on the small table next to the cot I sat on. "You look like you've lost a fight or two."

"Yeah," I agreed, exhaling out the response. The girl's green eyes followed her hand's path as she began to gently clean off the blood on my forehead and clean the scratches.

"It'll probably scar, but your hair seems like it typically covers it, anyway." I nodded, letting her gently move my head to the side by putting her small hand under my jaw. "I'm going to put butterfly bandages on this cut under your eye. It looks pretty deep, and it goes all the way across your cheek. It shouldn't leave a scar as long as you don't mess with it."

"I thought your dad was the god of fire and craft," I said after she continued treating the wounds on my face and arms. "Why do you work in the infirmary?"

"Well, I can do stuff with fire, to a limit. I'm pretty good at making weapons and stuff, too, sometimes I do help make them when we're short on blacksmiths and need the metalwork. But just because I'm good at it or because my dad likes it, doesn't mean I have to like it. Not all demigods here follow careers or contribute to the camp in a way that complements their powers or heritage," she explained kindly. "It's not that I hate my abilities or my father, I just prefer being able to help people in this way."

"Oh," I nodded. "Sorry."

"It's okay," she shook her head as she wrapped my cut arm in gauze. "Don't apologize."

I watched as Adelpha finished cleaning up the injuries- although I was one of the ones lucky enough not to have broken any bones- then she began carefully putting her medical supplies back into their small box. "Just stay here and get some rest for now. Call me if you need anything, I'm staying here in the infirmary for a while. Otherwise, I'll come check up on you later."

Adelpha began walking away and out of sight, and I sat with my back against the wall that the cot was pressed to. Soon, I was able to watch as Percy crossed the infirmary to the cot I was on. I could have sworn that he had a bruised scrape on the right side of his face when we got to camp, but now it was completely gone. He looked perfectly fine, as if he didn't just come back from almost dying.

"Hey, why don't you look like garbage anymore," I asked as the older boy approached my bed.

"Gee, thanks," he replied.

"Sorry. I meant your cuts and bruises and stuff."

"The water helped," Percy shrugged. "I told the med guys I would just go out for a swim, the water always helps heal me. Doesn't it for you?"

"No," I shook my head in confusion. "I mean, it helps me feel more energized and stuff, like it helps me _feel_ physically fine, if that makes much sense."

"Yeah, I know what you mean, but it doesn't, like, help heal your wounds or whatever?"

I shook my head again. "No."

"I guess that's something else different, then. You can feel the monsters or whatever in the water, and I can't."

"Yeah," I agreed. "Maybe it's because of where we're from or something."

"I dunno," Percy shrugged as he sat on the foot of the cot I was on. "So how're you feeling?"

"Fine," I shrugged. "I don't really feel like I almost died, I guess. I'm surprised it was over that quickly, honestly. I don't even know why I don't feel affected by it. I mean, yeah, I'm used to the world ending or whatever, but I still used to get that thrill of fear whenever I almost actually _died._ Now, I guess I just kinda feel like it's... I dunno, not another day, but... I'm indifferent."

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Percy agreed, staring at the floor. "I get the same thing sometimes. It's not that I'm numb to it or anything, but I dunno. I told Annabeth about it once or twice," Percy paused with a small laugh and shook his head, "She went on this huge rant about how this life leads to depression or anxiety or whatever and the symptoms and causes and all that. I was probably sitting there nodding along for at least a half hour," Percy laughed quietly again, pressing one hand to his face as he rested his elbows on his knees.

I laughed with him quietly. "Yeah, I guess being friends with the daughter of the goddess of wisdom has his downsides, sometimes."

"Yeah," he confirmed, "You can say that twice."


	16. Chapter 16

"Well, try to get rest or something, then," Percy shrugged. "I'm gonna get going."

"Yeah," I mumbled, nodding my head. "See you later."

"Oh, and, uh," Percy turned back to me once he stood up, "Stay here because Annabeth said she was gonna come check on you and talk to you or whatever."

I nodded again, gazing at my boots. "M'kay."

"I'll see you later then, I guess."

Later on, the tall blonde girl came through the infirmary, gazing around at each bed until she stopped where I was. "Hey," she raised her eyebrows at me in greeting. "How're you feeling?"

"Fine," I shrugged as Annabeth sat on the foot of the bed.

"Percy told me about what happened," she told me in a new gentle tone. "And," she began in her original confident know-it-all tone, "Ordinarily, I would tell you all about what I would always tell him. That this life," she made a small shrugging gesture with her hands, "It can lead to a lot of anxiety and depression, and that those cause that whole numb feeling."

I shrugged and gazed down near my feet.

"However," Annabeth continued, "I won't tell you about it. Mainly because I don't think that's what it is. Over the past week, you nearly died from a leviathan attack and lost your home, risked your life without thinking by coming into contact with Scylla, met your brother, then risked your life again without thought. Your brain has too much, so it shut down."

"So you're saying I'm in shock," I replied monotonously.

"No, not necessarily. When a person goes into shock, it's their brains way of coping in order to keep safe. That's not necessarily what you're doing, you just... Fried your brain, I guess you could say. Became so overwhelmed that you didn't think twice about nearly dying. In fact, I don't think you even registered the fact that you could have died, and you didn't notice the risks you were taking out there. Your brain was pumping with adrenaline before, you felt a thrill from it. Not a good one, but you felt the excitement and the horror. Now, you've just hit so many hormones from everything you've been through, not to mention all the hormones going through you because of your age. So, your brain couldn't function and practically shut down, kind of like it didn't know which order to take, to feel happy or upset or tired or angry. So it just sat there."

I nodded absentmindedly. "Yeah."

"Well, you get some rest," Annabeth nodded at me. "Chiron said he wants to see you at the Big House once you're all recovered."

I nodded back at the girl. "What for?"

Annabeth shrugged as she stood up. "Probably just more reporting on the mission, something he didn't get answered beforehand. You couldn't have done anything to get in trouble."

"All right," I exhaled out with another small nod as Annabeth smiled and began to exit the infirmary.

When Annabeth was out of sight, I stared up at the ceiling from where I sat on the foot of the bed, running my hands through my hair. The dark brown strands were beginning to reach my eyes, the choppy bangs growing out unevenly. I brushed the hair back with my hands, shaking out my head. I stretched up to let my back crack and pop, then swing my feet over the bed until my boots tapped on the wood floor.

I stood up from the bed and pulled my shirt down, but was stopped from leaving. "Hey, where you going?"

I turned to Adelpha, and I could see her standing only inches above me. "Oh, Chiron said he wanted to see me, I guess, that's what Annabeth told me."

"That's the Athena girl, yeah? Well, you might want to wait until you've recovered, you might black out with that concussion."

I shrugged. "I'm sure I'll be fine."

Adelpha have me a small nod. "Then at least let me check over your injuries one more time before you get going."

I nodded, sitting on the cot next to Adelpha, letting her remove the thin white bandage off my cheekbone to examine the long cut across. She re-cleaned the wound on my face and across my arm, putting new clean bandages over them. "Just be careful. You probably shouldn't be going on any missions any time soon, it can make your head injury worse."

I nodded again. "All right, I'll be careful," I gave the girl a small smile. "Thanks."

"No problem," Adelpha ran her hand through her dark brown hair, pulling on the shoulder-length strands as she stood up with me.

I began to stand up, but only reached a few steps before I heard Adelpha's voice again. "Oh, and Calixia?" I turned back to the girl. "How old are you again."

"Uhm, I turn fourteen in a couple days. Why?"

"Just wondering. I turned fourteen last month, so I just wanted to know the age difference between us."

"Oh, okay. I'll see you later, then." A gave a small smile to the girl and waved.

"Bye," She mimicked my wave before I turned to leave.


End file.
